WinterFest 2022

[mtorange]

Even though WinterFest 2021 just ended a little more than a month ago, dates for 2022 have been posted on the website! While subject to change, the merriest event in the Commonwealth is scheduled to run from November 18th to January 1st.

Christmas Events & Activities | WinterFest | Kings Dominion

Are you looking for the best Christmas events for the entire family? Visit Kings Dominion's WinterFest to enjoy all that the holiday spirit has to offer!

www.kingsdominion.com

 

[mwhinva]

I'm a little surprised to see the Winterfest schedule (and the Haunt schedule too) put out so early. Usually, you don't hear a whisper of the Fall/Winter schedule until late August.

 

[super7]

I’m a little disappointed that they aren’t trying the first weekend in Jan even though it didn’t work this year.

Carowinds was packed on Jan 8 this year. Then it rained on the 9th. Although it may not have generated revenue if it was all season passholders.

It was nice having that extra weekend this year.

 

[mwhinva]

I’m a little disappointed that they aren’t trying the first weekend in Jan even though it didn’t work this year.

Carowinds was packed on Jan 8 this year. Then it rained on the 9th. Although it may not have generated revenue if it was all season passholders.

It was nice having that extra weekend this year.

Keep in mind that extra weekend this past January was not part of the original posted 2021Winterfest schedule. It was added either just before Winterfest started or right around Thanksgiving weekend. At this point, I would not rule out a possible late add to the event schedule.

 

[mtorange]

According to the ticket page of the park’s website, WinterFest will be operating five days a week from Wednesdays through Sundays starting November 30th. This is by far the largest season of WinterFest yet, with 30 days of operation (35 if you count November Nights, which is essentially WinterFest Lite).

KD also seems to be the only park in the Cedar Fair chain doing something like this, as of now.

https://cf-kd.store.cffunkd.com/guestOptions/Winter?_cid=2038414600.1664498406&queueittoken=e_cedarkingsdominion~q_d8d59e7b-8295-4b0d-a362-90a270049d40~ts_1664933531~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_eaa8575d5d51eee36553ee9246b127894a7689095264d0461659b000172b437b

 

[mtorange]

Lots of changes for WinterFest this year!

1. The Humbugs are a brand-new band that will be playing at the Old Virginia gazebo. I imagine this will be similar to the show that the park did during Taste of the Season, as @Mushroom pointed out a while back.

2. The Kris Kringles are a barber shop quartet singing on International Street!

3. Lots of show venue changes: Tinker’s Toy Factory is now in Kings Dominion Theater, Jingle Jazz is now at the Grove stage with Holly Jolly Trolley, and the Mistletones are now back to their original home in Old Virginia with The Humbugs. Four Drummers Drumming is now in Snowman Alley, which is near the Dominator.

 

[Mushroom]

Lots of changes for WinterFest this year!

1. The Humbugs are a brand-new band that will be playing at the Old Virginia gazebo. I imagine this will be similar to the show that the park did during Taste of the Season, as @Mushroom pointed out a while back.

2. The Kris Kringles are a barber shop quartet singing on International Street!

3. Lots of show venue changes: Tinker’s Toy Factory is now in Kings Dominion Theater, Jingle Jazz is now at the Grove stage with Holly Jolly Trolley, and the Mistletones are now back to their original home in Old Virginia with The Humbugs. Four Drummers Drumming is now in Snowman Alley, which is near the Dominator.

Interesting changes, though I’m not sure how I feel about some of them. Is Charlie Brown’s Christmas Spectacular gone? I always enjoyed that one, but never cared for Tinker’s Toy Factory - I found it far too long and too cheesy even for a theme park show. I also preferred the Mistletones on the Grove Stage since that show felt like one worth sitting down for (facilitated by the benches by the stage), whereas Jingle Jazz seemed more like a quick stop-and-go diversion that was well-suited for the standing-only Old Virginia Gazebo.

My biggest concern is putting Four Drummers Drumming by Dominator. That show is a huge crowd pleaser, but the Dominator plaza always seems deserted during Winterfest, even when the coaster is open. On the (many) nights where Dominator is closed due to low temperatures, forget about it - the area is a ghost town. Even the DJ they used to have in that plaza for the first season of Winterfest eventually got moved near Juke Box Diner since there was never anyone there. I have no idea why they’d want to move the show so far out of the way that it’ll only be happened upon by Dominator riders. It’s especially a shame since Four Drummers Drumming is one of Winterfest’s most unique shows.

 

[fugitiveALiEN]

I agree about Tinkers, although I'd say it makes a bit more sense having a non Peanuts show in the main KD Theater, especially when you have pics with Santa right next door to an elf show. To my knowledge though, the show will be heavily changed. CW Started with an acrobatics cirque style show and KI changed theirs in 2019 before reverting to the original in 2021. Here's hoping they use this as an opportunity to finally put in a KECO era set in the KD Theater, but that likely won't happen. I'd be happy even if it's something along the lines of Gravity.

As much as I will miss Charlie Brown's Christmas Spectacular (as in obsessively self teaching the choreo and voice parts to myself and attempting to come up with a cleaned audio version since 2018) I can understand why the show might be retiring. That show started way back in 2016 at KBF as It's the Merriest Christmas Show Ever Charlie Brown (Albeit with much different arrangements, the set list, Peanuts segments, and much of the choreo stayed the same).

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I'm speculating that due to its tenure, and many people in the public starting to recognize that this was the same show since year one, KD, CF, or RWS thought that it was time to retire this show at KD. I do wish that they could have done a simple trade off, as it would have made much more sense within their thematic areas, or even adapt a new show with the same showstopper sequins energy of CBCS.

In all fairness, Tinkers is a show adapted from Paramount's 2006 show Santa's Toy factory, which is more or less the same as today's(?) with the Reindeer and penguin puppet segments being cut in the current version

https://youtu.be/hVNTZpILwOY

 

[RollyCoaster]

Tinker slander won’t be tolerated. It well deserves a larger stage and theatre. Choreography and sound were always so well done and executed perfectly. I’m so looking forward to this change.

 

[Mushroom]

The main problem I have with Tinker is that it is way too long. It clocks in at nearly 32 minutes, which in my opinion is too long for any theme park show - especially a show at Kings Dominion, which isn’t primarily known for its live entertainment.

In my opinion, they need to cut some dialogue and at least 2-3 songs to get the show to a length that’ll hold the attention of most audience members. I think no show at KD should really extend beyond the length of a normal sitcom episode, 22 minutes.

 

[warfelg]

The main problem I have with Tinker is that it is way too long. It clocks in at nearly 32 minutes, which in my opinion is too long for any theme park show - especially a show at Kings Dominion, which isn’t primarily known for its live entertainment.

In my opinion, they need to cut some dialogue and at least 2-3 songs to get the show to a length that’ll hold the attention of most audience members. I think no show at KD should really extend beyond the length of a normal sitcom episode, 22 minutes.

Bluey episode lengths are perfect.

 

[rswashdc]

The main problem I have with Tinker is that it is way too long. It clocks in at nearly 32 minutes, which in my opinion is too long for any theme park show - especially a show at Kings Dominion, which isn’t primarily known for its live entertainment.

In my opinion, they need to cut some dialogue and at least 2-3 songs to get the show to a length that’ll hold the attention of most audience members. I think no show at KD should really extend beyond the length of a normal sitcom episode, 22 minutes.

The Cirque shows at 30 mins are good, and I wouldn’t mind if they were longer. The issue with Tinkers is it really isn’t that great a show to be able to sustain for 30+ minutes.

 

[bill s]

When 4 Drummers was last "near" Dominator, they were actually in front of Berserker. Good to hear of their return.

 

[mtorange]

When 4 Drummers was last "near" Dominator, they were actually in front of Berserker. Good to hear of their return.

After thinking a bit, there’s a chance that they may remain near Beserker. But the thing that makes me wonder if it’s actually moving near Dominator is the fact that last year, the show was billed as being on International Street, while this year, the website specifically says Snowman Alley.

Interesting changes, though I’m not sure how I feel about some of them. Is Charlie Brown’s Christmas Spectacular gone?

From what I’m aware of, this show is gone. It’s been removed from the website and is not listed on any lineup.

 

[mwhinva]

The main problem I have with Tinker is that it is way too long. It clocks in at nearly 32 minutes, which in my opinion is too long for any theme park show - especially a show at Kings Dominion, which isn’t primarily known for its live entertainment.

In my opinion, they need to cut some dialogue and at least 2-3 songs to get the show to a length that’ll hold the attention of most audience members. I think no show at KD should really extend beyond the length of a normal sitcom episode, 22 minutes.

I just had to chuckle at your show length comment. The main shows in the KD theater were originally 45-50 minutes long. The rest of the park's shows were 30-35 minutes long. It took Taft/KECO 10 years to shorten the broadway main show to 30-35 minutes and the other shows to 20-25 minutes.

Course, the park chain back then had very high show production values and large entertainment budgets. The show quality/talent back then kept people in their seats.

But, in today's 24/7 instant access demographic population, folks seem to have the attention span of a gnat.

 

[Crunchewy]

Only being open 5 to 10 pm with it being a 2.5+ hour drive there (though usually "only" 2+ hours to get home) means I'll be driving as much or more than being at the park (considering time to park, walk to and get through the gate). But I do enjoy it, so we will do it. Do we think an early date on a Saturday would be ok crowd-wise? Would prefer not to stay until 10 on a Sunday, so hopefully a Saturday wouldn't be too bad if it's not too close to xmas). And driving there on a weekday is unacceptable (horrid traffic). I would November nights, but I am assuming not everything planned would be up and running yet.

 

[fugitiveALiEN]

Do we think an early date on a Saturday would be ok crowd-wise? Would prefer not to stay until 10 on a Sunday, so hopefully a Saturday wouldn't be too bad if it's not too close to xmas).

Saturdays for Winterfest are nowhere near as bad as Haunt usually is. To my knowledge, theoretical capacity for an average night is somewhere between 35-40,000 and a bit higher with the parties on New Year's. Numbers only ever really met about half that even on the busiest days in the past. That being said, if you want to go for a full Winterfest on a Saturday, I'd recommend going on an earlier weekend.

If memory serves me well, the weekend before Christmas (the 17th this year) is usually the first busy weekend of the season. Thanksgiving weekend can get a bit busy too, but not as bad as closer to Christmas. The biggest crowds are typically found on the days between Christmas and New Year's, but I imagine some of these weekday times would spread out the crowds a bit more evenly this year. If time is another worry, they do tend to open Intl St. and Dominator about 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the park as well.

 

[Crunchewy]

If time is another worry, they do tend to open Intl St. and Dominator about 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the park as well.

Oh, that's good to know. Thanks!

 

[buckler89]

I'm curious how KD's event compares to Busch Gardens. We've done Christmas Town a few times and have always enjoyed it, though we haven't done it the last 2 years.

We usually just go to look at lights, grab a little food, and do something with Santa for my nephew. But BG is 3 hours from us, while KD is an hour and a half. I honestly avoided WF the first few years to let KD get their feet under them, but it seems like this would be a good year to go.

Just curious to hear what people here would say about the differences between the two and which one they'd recommend. We'll likely only do 1 of the two and I'm leaning toward KD for the easier trip.

 

[mwhinva]

I'm curious how KD's event compares to Busch Gardens. We've done Christmas Town a few times and have always enjoyed it, though we haven't done it the last 2 years.

We usually just go to look at lights, grab a little food, and do something with Santa for my nephew. But BG is 3 hours from us, while KD is an hour and a half. I honestly avoided WF the first few years to let KD get their feet under them, but it seems like this would be a good year to go.

Just curious to hear what people here would say about the differences between the two and which one they'd recommend. We'll likely only do 1 of the two and I'm leaning toward KD for the easier trip.

I have not been to CT, so I cannot directly compare to Winterfest. I have attended WF in 2019, 2021, and the scaled down version in 2020. It does appear that KD draws BGW members to the park for Winterfest. Overheard folks stating that they really enjoyed it. Plus, it sounded like CT was getting a little stale for them and they wanted to try something different. Keep in mind I never heard anything negative about the event nor comparing each event. Most folks liked each for different reasons and liked the opportunity to have some choice for the holiday season.